The present invention is directed to a sanitary device and more particularly to the hot water supply arrangement for a spray-type sanitary device associated with a toilet bowl for automatically cleansing and drying the anus of the human body while the user is in the usual sitting position on the toilet bowl.
Conventionally, in sanitary devices of this general character, cold water is supplied under pressure to a supply tank having heating means therein and the increased pressure within the supply tank will force hot water from the supply tank through a retractable arm having a spray nozzle at one end thereof.
Due to the size of the supply tank, the cold water inlet and the hot water outlet are fairly close to each other, and due to the presence of various obstacles within the tank such as the housing for the retractable spray arm, the cold water is often deflected into the vicinity of the outlet for the hot water so that cold water is often delivered to the spray nozzle without being properly heated. Needless to say, the sudden application of cold water when hot water is expected is most undesirable.
A sanitary device of the type described above is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,807. In this patent, the cold water is supplied under pressure through an inlet 13 and hot water is withdrawn from the tank through an outlet 14. The housing 21 for the retractable spray arm 27 substantially bisects the tank with the end thereof which is in communication with the hot water being disposed higher than the end from which the arm 27 is extendable and retractable. The water heating coil 4 is located adjacent the bottom of the tank below the housing for the retractable spray arm and it is necessary for the incoming cold water to be heated by the coil prior to being discharged. While the pressure of the incoming water generally directs cold water towards the bottom of the tank where it can come into contact with the heating coil, a substantial portion of the incoming cold water may be deflected from the cylindrical housing 21 for the retractable spray arm into the vicinity of the hot water outlet without being properly heated. Therefore, such cold water can frequently be inadvertently discharged through the outlet 14, much to the surprise of the user.